Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan
Marco Polo II explained: place dice, collect jade and other goods, fulfill contracts, travel from Beijing across Asia and exploit new asymmetric characters.
Continue the Marco Polo system with a new map, redesigned actions, jade as a new commodity and a different set of asymmetric characters and scoring incentives.
Why We Love It
Marco Polo II preserves the sharp dice-placement identity of the original while changing the action economy enough to stand as a genuinely different strategy game.
About Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan
Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan is a heavy strategy game published by Hans im Glück and designed by Daniele Tascini; Simone Luciani. Its core systems include Dice Placement, Contracts and Route Travel, creating a mix of tactical timing and longer-term planning.
This guide focuses on the edition and rules scope identified in the source notes below, with factual rules separated from editorial decision analysis.
Game at a Glance
Dice Placement
Use dice values as action access, strength or timing constraints.
Contracts
Use this system efficiently and connect it to your broader scoring plan.
Route Travel
Use this system efficiently and connect it to your broader scoring plan.
Variable Player Powers
Use this system efficiently and connect it to your broader scoring plan.
Who Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan suits
Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan suits players who enjoy Dice Placement and Contracts, with room to build a plan while reacting to shared incentives. Its heavy weight makes it a better fit for groups comfortable tracking several connected systems.
Rules overview
Each round, roll dice and assign them to action spaces to gain resources, jade, contracts and travel. Complete contracts for rewards and establish trading posts while moving outward from Beijing. New characters provide strong asymmetric abilities and the final scoring differs from the original game.
Key decisions
Editorial analysis: Travel and contracts still reinforce each other, but jade introduces another conversion constraint. Plan routes around both city benefits and the goods your next contracts actually require.
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Sources and edition notes
Facts checked September 17, 2026. Marco Polo II is a standalone game, not an expansion.